Simulation and Analysis of Rigid/Foil Electrolytic In-Process Dressing (ELID) Systems for Grinding

The fluid flow problem in a traditional electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) system is analyzed and solved numerically. The predicted mean velocity profiles in the dressing zone show flow patterns that are in good agreement with the mean velocity distributions for plane laminar/turbulent Couette flows observed in the experiments. The computational results reveal that insufficient electrolyte supply rate is the cause of the failure of the traditional ELID system for high-speed grinding. Results also show that to obtain effective high-speed ELID grinding, a consistent high inlet electrolyte velocity or supply rate is required. For the foil ELID system, governing equations describing the fluid flow in the dressing zone and the foil elastic deformation are formulated. Analytical solution based on unidirectional flow model for the problem is presented and effects of wheel surface speed and foil tension on the performance of the dressing system are discussed. It is shown that the foil ELID system has the potential to be effective for high-speed grinding with low electrolyte supply rates. The results will be useful to the development of new machine systems and processes for high-speed grinding.